Operating seam cutter



Nov.:9, 1937. 5 CREWDSON 2,098,899

OPER'ATING MSEAM CUTTER Original Filed Sept. 12, 1954 Patented Nov. 9, 1937 UNITED STATES messes OPERATING SEAM CUTTER,

Sarah M. Crewdson, Chicago, Ill., assignor of one-third to Robert H. Goodhart, Chicago, Ill.

Application September 12, 1934, Serial No. 743,642

Renewed April 5, 1937 '7 Claims.

The invention relates to an attachment for sewing machines and has particular reference to anattachment which will operate on the goods simultaneously with that of the sewing machine.

The invention has for an object to provide an attachment for sewing machines which will per- 7 forma cutting or pinking operation on the goods immediately subsequent to the sewing of the goods. As the device of the invention renders it possible to sew and trim a seam in one operation a substantial saving in time is eflected with consequent reduction in the cost of the completed article.

An object of the invention is to provide an attachment of the character described which can be readily secured to a sewing machine in a plurality of adjusted positions with respect to the needle to permit the operator to vary the distance of the severed edge from the stitching, thereby cutting margins of variable widths.

A further object is to provide an attachment of the character described which can be readily secured to or removed from sewing machines of any conventional type and adjusted to vary the distance of the cutting or pinking blade from the stitchingand which will incorporate a scale to aid the operator in securing. the proper adjustment for cutting a margin of the desired width.

With these and various other objects in view, the invention may consist of certain novel features of construction and operation, as will be more fully described and particularly pointed out in the specification, drawing and claims appended hereto.

In the drawing which illustrates an embodiment of the invention and wherein like reference characters are used to designate like parts Figure 1 is a plan View of the device shown in association with the operating elements of a sew-, ing machine;

Figure 2 is a front elevational view of the device shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a rear elevational view showing the mechanism for operating the cutter and feeding rollers from the needle post of the sewing machine;

Figure 4 is a detail sectional view of the cutter blade taken substantially along line 4-4 of Figure 1; and

Figure 5 is a. detail View similar to Figure 4 but showing a pinking blade in operative position.

The invention is shown in associated relation with a conventional type sewing machine having a work supporting surface ID, a vertical reciprocating needle post carrying a needle I2 and.

supporti g post l3 carrying'the foot M which holds the goods to be sewed in contact with the feeder I5. The foot'l i is removably secured to the rectangular section It of the supporting post by the thumb screw I! which also removably secures to the post an element of the device to be presently described. It is also to be understood that the supporting post l3 can be vertically reciprocated by the operator and is yieldingly held in contact with the goods during the sewing operation and lifted to remove the same 'from the goods at the finish thereof.

The attachmentconsists of a frame member indicated in its entirety by Hi having an inclined work supporting surface 2|] and a vertical wall 2| extending from one edge of the surface 29 and providing three bosses 22 overlying the surface but spaced therefrom. The rear wall of the frame member is slotted at 23, as shown in Figure 2, for receiving the clamp 24, which adjustably clamps the attachment to the rear of the work table IU of the sewing machine. Said frame member is also secured in adjusted position by the scale 25 having the graduations 26 and provided with an elongated slot 21. The wall 2| is reduced in height at the end adjacent the supporting post I3 and is provided with a projecting screw 28 which is adapted to receive the winged nut 30, the screw extending through the slot 21 in the scale, which isthus secured to the attachment by the winged nut. The scale is also fixedly secured to the supporting post 53 having the bent end 3| adapted to overlie the secured portion of the foot |4 so that the foot and scale are releasably secured by the thumb screw ll, allowing the member to be moved to the desired cutting width.

The central boss 22 journals shaft 32 having fixedly secured to the end projecting from the boss a cutting blade such as 33 and having fixedly secured to theend projecting on the opposite side of Wall 2| the gear 34. Also fixed to said end adjacent the gear is a ratchet 35 and rotatable on said end is an arm 36. The right hand end of the arm, Figure 3, carries the rotatable pawl 31 which is resiliently held into contact with the ratchet 35 by the coil spring 38. The opposite end of the arm is bent as at 39 so that the arm will clear the scale 25, the extremity of said bent end being bifurcated for receiving the stud 4!).

Said stud has a knurled periphery at its outer end and is suitably threaded as at 4| to the needle post From the foregoing it will be understood that vertical movement of the needle post will oscillate the arm 35 to cause engagement of pawl 31 in notches in the ratchet 35 and rotation of said ratchet and shaft 32 in a counterclockwise direction, Figure 3. Rotation of shaft 32 will result in rotation of the cutting blade 33.

Extending from the frame member l8 below the work supporting surface 20 are three bosses 42, the center boss having a bearing with an eccentric shaft 43 for mounting the roller 44 below the work supporting surface 20 and in position for association with the cutting blade 33. The eccentric shaft of the bearing permits adjustment of the roller 44 with respect to the cutting blade while the roller is provided with a circumferential groove 45 to form a cutting edge for said blade.

- The two end bosses 22 journal shafts carrying rollers 46 and 41, said shafts having secured to the end projecting outwardly of wall 2| a pinion 48 and a gear 50, respectively. Idlers 5|. operatively connect the pinion and gear with gear 34 so that the rollers are driven from the reciprocating needle post and at a definite speed with respect to that of the cutting blade 33. The two end bosses 42 located below the work supporting surface 20 also have eccentric shafts carrying rollers 52 and 53, respectively, having contact with the upper rollers 46 and 41. The rollers in advance of the cutting blade, namely 46 and 52, receive the material from the sewing machine and operate to feed the same at the desired speed to the cutting element, whereas, rollers 41 and 53, receive the material after the same has been severed and operate to remove the material from the cutting element at the desired speed.

The edge of wall 2| is provided with a flange 54 overhanging the gears and acting as a guard therefor. The cutting blade 33 is also provided with a guard 55 suitably secured by screw 56 to the center boss 22. The blade is removable from shaft 32 so that cutting blades having other characteristics may be substituted therefor. As an example of the type of cutting element that may be substitutedfthere is shown in Figure 5 a blade 51 having a periphery in the form of a scroll and which is associated with roller 44 so as to engage the portion of the roller to the left of the groove 45. A blade of the character described will operate to pink the edges of the seam which has the desirable result of preventing ravelling and also providing an attractive finished edge.

The attachment is readily secured to the work supporting table of the sewing machine by means of the clamp 24 after the same has been properly located in the position to secure the margin desired. The extent of margin is indicated on the scale 25 which is first fixedly secured to the post l3. With the parts in the position described the projecting screw 28 on the attachment will ex: tend through the slot in the scale to indicate the margin for the particular adjustment which is then locked by tightening the clamp and turning the winged nut 38 so that the same overlies the scale and holds the scale to the attachment.

The form of cutting blade used will depend on the character of severed edge desired. For a straight edge the cutting blade as shown in Figures l and 2 will be used. The blade when properly associated with the roller 44 will form a cutting element which will operate to trim the edge of the scam the desireddistance from the stitching which isflrst determined by the particular adjustment of the attachment. When using the pinking blade shown in Figure 5 the attachment will have to be adjusted to suit this blade since the blade has a different position in the attachment as the same is associated with the periphery of the roller 44 to one side of the groove therein.

It is also to be understood that the attachment.

may be incorporated in a sewing machine in a more permanent manner in which case thesupporting surface 20 will be flush with the Work supporting table of the machine, thus locating the lower rollers, namely 52, 44 and 53, below the table and out of sight. The same structure for providing adjustment of the device can be used or the device can be permanently fixed to the machine to cut margins of definite Width.

It is to be understood that I do not Wish to be limited by the exact embodiment of the device shown, which is merely by way of illustration and not limitation, as various and other forms of the device will of course be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of, the claims.

I claim:

l. Anattachment for sewingmachines co prising a frame member rotatably mounting ,a cutting blade, means operatively connecting said blade with a movable element of the sewing machine whereby said blade isrotated by the action of the machine, rollers journalled by the frame member, and means for rotating said roll ers at a speed to conform with that of the cutting blade for causing travel of the material with respect thereto.

2. An attachment for sewing machines, comprising a frame member, ashaft journalled by said member and carrying a cutting blade, a roller mounted for rotation in said frame member and providing a cutting edge for association with said blade, other rollers rotatably mounted by said frame member and disposed to one side of the blade for feeding material thereto, means rotating said other rollers, and .means operatively connecting the shaft with a movable element of the machine. 7

3. An' attachment for sewing machines, comprising a frame member, a shaft journalled by said member and carrying a cutting blade, a. roller mounted for rotation in said frame member and providing a cutting surface for association with said blade, and a scale for indicating the position of the attachment with respect to a line passing through the needle of the machine and running parallel to the direction of travel of the material.

4. An attachment for sewing machines, comprising a frame member adapted to be positioned to the rear of the needle of the machine and provided with an inclined work supporting plane, a shaft journalled by said frame member above said plane, a cutting blade fixed to the end of the shaft extending over the plane, a roller journalled by said frame member below the plane and positioned for contact with said cutting blade, and means operatively connecting said shaft with a movable element of the machine to cause rotation of said shaft and thus said cutting blade.

5. An attachment for sewing machines, comprising a frame member adapted to operate on the goods subsequent to the sewing thereof, said 7 frame member providing an inclined work supporting surface, a cutting blade and a roller supported by the frame member on the respective Sides of the inclined work supporting surface, said cutting blade and roller having contact with each other, and means operatively connecting the cutting blade with a movable element of the machine to cause rotation of the blade.

6. An attachment for sewing machines, comprising a frame member adapted to operate on the goods subsequent to the sewing thereof, said frame member providing an inclined work supporting surface, a cutting blade and a roller sup ported by the frame member on the respective sides of the inclined work supporting surface, said cutting blade and roller having contact with each other, means operatively connecting the cutting blade with a movable element of the machine to cause rotation of the blade, and means for adjustably securing the frame member in position to the rear of the needle of the sewing machine.

'7. An attachment for sewing machines, comprising a frame member adapted to: operate on the goods subsequent to the sewing thereof, said frame member providing an inclined work supporting surface, a cutting blade and a roller supported by the frame member on the respective sides of the inclined work supporting surface, said cutting blade and roller having contact with each other, means operatively connecting the cutting blade with a movable element of the machine to cause rotation of the blade, and a scale for indicating the position of the cutting blade with respect to a line passing through the needle of the machine and running parallel to the direction of travel of the goods.

SARAH M. CREWDSON. 

